"Girl Power" returned on Sunday as Britain's Spice Girls kicked
off their long-awaited world reunion tour with a more sophisticated
look than when they first stormed the pop world in the 1990s.
The quintet -- knownThe
Spice Girls, (from L to R) Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm,
Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham, perform as they
kick off their reunion tour in Vancouver on December 2,
2007.
?by their nicknames Posh, Baby, Sporty, Ginger and Scary --
opened their show before a sold-out audience of more than 15,000
people in Vancouver with three of their mega-hits, including "Spice
Up Your Life."
"How ya doing?" Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm asked the
raucous crowd in the opening set that also included a video image
of the group's history.
The celebrities in the audience included soccer star David
Beckham, husband of Victoria "Posh" Beckham, and singer Avril
Lavigne.
The Vancouver show launched a tour that will wind its way though
Canada, the United States and Europe for the next three months, and
may be expanded to include concerts in South Africa and South
America.
The Spice Girls conquered the music world in the late 1990s,
with catchy throw-away songs, teeny-bopper style, and the "girl
power" slogan that made them a pop phenomenon to rival the
Beatles.
The crowd for the high-energy show that lasted nearly two hours
was dominated by teenage girls and women who were teenagers when
the group was at its peak.
"It was so good it made me want to cry," said Nicole Bride, 19,
from Kenora, Ontario. "It was like being reminded of when you were
a little girl dancing in your room."
The band comprised of Beckham, Chisholm, Geri "Ginger"
Halliwell, Melanie "Scary" Brown and Emma "Baby" Bunton, came
together in 1993 after an advertisement for a girl band was posted.
The women took control of the group in 1994.
Their debut single "Wannabe" was a global hit in 1996 and they
used it in their encore on Sunday.
But their success was short-lived, with Halliwell walking out on
the group in 1998. The remaining members went their separate ways
after releasing the album "Forever" in 2000.
All now in their 30s with a combined seven children, the singers
embarked on solo careers with varying degrees of success. They had
not toured together since 1999 and admitted to reporters before the
concert they were a bit nervous.
The women performed in costumes designed by designer Roberto
Cavalli and were backed by a crew of 10 male dancers.
Geri Halliwell (L) and
Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls perform as they kick off their
reunion tour in Vancouver, British Columbia Dec. 2,
2007.
The Spice Girls, (from L to
R) Melanie Chisholm, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Melanie
Brown (front) and Emma Bunton, perform as they kick off their
reunion tour in Vancouver, British Columbia Dec. 2,
2007.
(CRI via Agencies December 4, 2007)
